Bringing a PE "Life Line" for Children's Hospital in Hanoi

Nov 2009

Vietnam

41023 people reached

Vietnam has been growing fast over the
last decade and has made considerable
progress in meeting the UN Millennium
Development Goals for water and
sanitation. However, there are many
challenges left which still need support
from outside bodies. One example was the National Hospital of
Paediatrics (NHP) in Hanoi, Vietnam, where
the water and sanitation conditions were
far from ideal with poor water quality and
very few drinking and hand washing
facilities. Now, thanks to the work of the
NGO Lien Aid, supported by Borouge, the
situation is much improved, which will bring
health and hope to many children as they
embark on their journey to recovery.

Lien Aid, is an NGO working in Asia to bring safe
water and sanitation to poor communities. In
this, their second collaborative project with
Borouge, they have significantly improved the
water supply system to a children’s hospital in
Hanoi, in North Vietnam.
As we all know clean water and good sanitation
are essential for the health and well-being of us
all and never more so than when we are in
hospital recovering from an operation or illness.
Unfortunately, for the patients at the National
Hospital of Paediatrics (NHP) in Hanoi, Vietnam,
the water and sanitation conditions were far from
ideal, but thanks to the work of the NGO Lien
Aid, supported by Borouge, the situation is now
much improved.

The National Hospital of Paediatrics

The hospital, which treats around 400,000
children a year, uses about 900 cubic metres of
water per day, half of which came from the
municipal piped water supply and half from two
wells located within the hospital grounds. The
small-scale water treatment plant used to treat
the well water was not sufficient to eradicate all
bacterial contamination. In addition, the lack of
trained staff to do regular maintenance work
resulted in leaking pipes, clogged sand filters
and exposed water containers, which resulted
in further contamination of the water supply,
making it unsuitable for use in the hospital.
Around the hospital, there were very few hand
washing and drinking water facilities for both
patients and staff. In the out-patient department,
there were no drinking water points and patients
had to buy bottled water to drink. This additional
cost, on top of treatment costs, placed a heavy
financial burden on patients and their families,
many of whom came from poor rural communities.

Good solutions from Partnership

A project, called “Life Lines”, was developed
by Lien Aid and Borouge to deliver clean drinking
water from two new reverse osmosis (RO)
treatment units to various water points around
the hospital. This included hand washing facilities
in the operating theatres and recovery rooms,
contagious diseases unit, neonatal department,
and the emergency resuscitation department,
and 28 drinking water points throughout the
hospital.

Borouge supplied all the PE80, PN10 pipes and
fittings made of BorSafe™ ME3440 for this
project. As the water needed to be supplied
throughout the two large hospital buildings, the
pipes and fittings varied considerably in size,
from 25 mm to 90 mm diameter. Borouge’s local
agent, Han Huay Trading, ensured that high
quality pipes were produced from the material
by coordinating the supply from the reputable
pipe customer, Tifoplast.

Water from reverse osmosis plants is known to
be more “aggressive” than normal tap water on
metal pipes and therefore, polyethylene pipes
was by far the best choice. The flexible and UV
resistant piping made of black PE80 compound
offered easy plumbing installation, as the long
lengths of coiled pipe could be fixed to the outer
walls of the eight storey building without the need
of protection against sunlight. Tight-fit fusion
fittings ensured leak free joints for water
distribution from the RO water tank on roof top
to the lower floors.
Lien Aid managed the project and ensured that
the water quality met the WHO requirements,
by improving the existing water treatment system
at the hospital and installing two 1,000 litre per
hour aseptic water units.

The future

This is the first of two hospital projects where
Borouge and Lien Aid will work in partnership
to improve the water supply, and thereby, the
quality of healthcare in Vietnam. These projects
will bring health and hope to many children as
they embark on their journey to recovery.